Once an update set has been completed, it is ready to be transferred to another instance.  Transferring update sets between instances takes a few steps, and once initially set up, it can be a quick process.

To start the process of moving an update set between two instances, we first need to log in to the instance we want to move the update set to, or the destination instance. Then we navigate to System Update Sets | Update Sources and click New.

We can see the new update source screen in Figure 11.3:

On this form, there are some key fields to fill in. Let's start with the mandatory fields first: Name and URL. The Name field is exactly that – a name to give to our update source so a system admin can easily recognize this update source. This is often the name of the instance we are taking the update set from, or the source instance. The URL field needs to be the URL of the source instance in the format <instance_name>.service-now.com.

The other important fields on this form are the Username and Password fields. These need to be a username and password for the source instance, and the account has to be an admin account for that instance.

The Type and Short description fields can also be filled in to add extra labels to help identify the update source. Once the form is complete, click Test connection to ensure that the source instance can be accessed. If the connection fails, you may need to check the information you provided and make sure the source instance can be accessed and does not have any IP access controls that could be causing a failure.

If the connection is a success, then the form can be saved. Once an update source has been saved, we can then start to bring in update sets from the source instance. A related link called Retrieve Completed Update Sets is now available to click. Once this is selected, all completed update sets will be transferred to the destination instance.

To see the update sets that have been moved to the destination instance, we can navigate to System Update Sets | Retrieved Update Sets. Now that the update set exists in the destination instance, we need to apply the customization to the destination instance, too.

The update sets that have been retrieved should have been automatically previewed; however, in older instances, this may not be the case, and it may need to be done manually. Sometimes a preview may bring up some warnings or errors that need to be reviewed before an update set can be committed. This can mean that there are missing tables or that a newer update for a particular customization exists on the destination instance. Most of the time, these errors and warnings still end up with the remote update being accepted and committed, but review each one to ensure you should be committing all the updates.  

Once the preview process is complete, you can commit your update set. This will add all of the customizations in the update set from the source instance to the destination instance, excluding any marked to skip as part of the preview process.

When the commit is complete, you have successfully transferred an update set from one instance to another.